This invention relates to rain gauges.
Rain gauges are known that include a rain holder and large numerals and/or words correlating the height of the water in the rain holder with the amount of rainfall. In this class of rain gauge, the rain holder has indications or gradation marks, such as lines, on it to indicate the graduations of water height between the numerals The numerals and/or words are large enough to be read from several yards away.
One prior art type of rain gauge in this class of known rain gauges includes an adjusting mechanism at the top of the rain holder to collect water from a wider area than the cross section of the rain holder so that the water in the rain holder rises at a faster rate than the rainfall but in proportion to the rainfall. This provides room for larger numbers on the rain holder itself to indicate the amount of rain per area that has fallen. This type of device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,606 granted Aug. 13, 1991 to Robert C. Geschwender, et al.
The prior art rain gauges with large lettering have a disadvantage in that the rain holder must be taller to accommodate large numerals one above the other that indicate the amount of rainfall. This increases the expense of manufacture and difficulty of placement.
Another type of prior art rain gauge has an opening smaller than the diameter of the rain holder at least at some locations and a tapered rain holder that causes the vertical scale to be proportioned differently than conventional rain gauges. This rain gauge has the disadvantage of having a vertical scale.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a novel rain gauge.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a rain gauge in which it is exceptionally easy to read the numerals indicating the amount of rain that has fallen.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a rain gauge in which the height of the rainfall in the rainfall holder positions rainfall indicators and a pointer with respect to each other along one or more curved paths in a manner that enables the pointer and rainfall indicators to indicate rainfall as determined from the height of the water in the rain holder.
It is a still further object of the invention to have a unique rain gauge which has a horizontal scale calibration.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a rain gauge with horizontal lettering and means to rotate a floating rainfall indicator in a large diameter rain collector with large scale calibrations.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a rain gauge in which the amount of rainfall is indicated by lettering, such as numerals or words, in which the numerals and/or words are substantially side by side in one or more horizontal rows rather than one above the other in a vertical column.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a rain gauge with an exceptionally clear indication of water height on the rain gauge itself.
In accordance with the above and further objects of the invention, the rain gauge of this invention comprises a rain holder, an opening facing upwardly through which rain can fall and a float in the rain holder. It is desirable for the opening to have an area smaller than but proportional to the surface area of water in the rain holder. This water in the rain holder forms the surface on which the float rests. With this arrangement the water height in the rain holder is lower than but proportional to the rainfall. The amount of rainfall is indicated by the relationship between a marker and numerals and/or words that indicate values of rainfall. The marker and numerals and/or words are moveable with respect to each other in a direction at an angle to the vertical to indicate the rainfall.
In the preferred embodiment, the rain holder is covered by an interface having a rainfall opening. The rainfall opening has an area facing upwardly that is proportional to but smaller than the surface area of the water collected in the rain holder so that the water in the rain holder raises to a level, lower than but proportional, to the rainfall value. A float in the rain holder moves both vertically and circumferentially with respect to a stationary member as the float changes height. The change in position of the float and stationary member with respect to each other causes a pointer or other indicator to indicate the amount of rainfall. With this arrangement, the scale indicating rainfall is horizontal rather than vertical.
A pointer can for example be mounted to the float to move with respect to numerals or words on the stationary member indicating the amount of rainfall as the water level in the holder increases. Because the numerals or words indicating the amount of rainfall are horizontal or substantially horizontal to each other and also because they are on a rain holder having a diameter larger than the usual rain gauge in which the surface areas of water in the rain holder have the same area as the openings through which rain falls, the numerals and/or words can be larger than if the numerals and/or words were one over the other and the diameter of the rain holder is the same as the diameter of the opening through which the rain falls into the rain holder. Means are also provided to mount the rain gauge upright and in the preferred embodiment this mounting means is adjustable in position. For example the rain holder can be rotated in position with respect to the holder so that the scale faces in a desired direction.
From the above description, it can be understood that the rain gauge of this invention has advantage of being easily readable from a distance.